Duets (2000)

entertaining...
I enjoyed the movie; it had great actors in it. Some people would say its not that great but if you want a "sit back and enjoy" -its really good. My favorite part of course is the duet Paul Giamatti does - Try a Little Tenderness - they did so well, they could have cut a record! I liked it.

A little 2-dmensional, but the singing will knock your socks off!
"Duets" is what my cinematically aware friends call a "sleeper". Most people in my circle never heard of it, but when they see it, enjoy the heck out of it. What makes it great is (1) the singing and (2) the amazing assemblage of acting talent, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti, Maria Bello. And Huey Lewis isn't bad, either.

The biggest flaws are Gwyneth's gangly, toothy, goody-two-shoes character; the contrived father-daughter conflict scenes between her and Huey; and his obligatory character change at the end, so they can sing the final duet together.

But who cares? The singing will absolutely blow you away. Gwyneth and Maria do their own, and they are fabulous, especially Gwyneth. What a set of pipes! She's the daughter of Blythe Danner, and inherited her vocal ability. (As far as a "who knew she could sing?" revelation, her performance rates right up there with Michelle Pfeiffer's in "The Fabulous Baker Boys".)

I'm not sure if Paul Giamatti did his own singing, but it sounds like him. Even if he's overdubbed by someone else, his singing performances are wonderful. The "Try a Little Tenderness" duet with him and Andre Braugher (dubbed) is to die for.

Get the DVD so you can watch the bonus features. If your player has the "angle" feature, it's fascinating to switch back and forth during the Huey-Gwyneth duet and compare the film version with the actual recording session. (I like her much better without makeup.)

Great Roadtrip Film
I would have to say "Duets" is a worthwhile film. It is probably one of the great roadtrip films that is right up there with "The Sweetest Thing", "Sideways", and "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion". The film focuses around three mismatched duos who share one thing in common-Karaoke. Despite their different lifestyles and attitudes, they have one objective in mind and that is to compete in the national Karaoke competition in Omaha.